Tag Archives: Boston Conservatory

Feb 20

Letting the Days Go By: “Giver of Light”

Posted on by

Presented by Guerilla Opera
Based on the life of Rumi 
music and libretto by Adam Roberts 
Stage direction by Andrew Eggert 
Electronics Composition by Anıl Çamcı
Sung in English 
75 minutes

Feb 18, 7:00 PM EST – Mar 18, 7:00 PM EDT

Sparrow Live

This production originally commissioned and performed in 2013 at the Boston Conservatory Black Box Theatre.  
GO on Facebook 
Sparrow Live on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“now even the heavens
are thankful that
because of love
i have become
the giver of light”
– Excerpt from “i was dead” by Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, the Sufi mystic and poet. 

“And you may ask yourself, ‘How do I work this?’
And you may ask yourself, ‘Where is that large automobile?’
And you may tell yourself, ‘This is not my beautiful house’
And you may tell yourself, ‘This is not my beautiful wife'”
-Excerpted from “Once In A Lifetime” by The Talking Heads

SPARROW LIVE — This critique of Guerilla Opera’s 2013 performance of GIver of Light will not critique the performance. The Boston Classical Review,  Boston Musical Intelligencer, and the Boston Globe reviewed Giver of Light while it was in production.  

I am instead responding to the watch party held on February 18 on Sparrow Live. Sparrow Live’s About section on its website says, “(Our) mission is to democratize access to the arts by connecting artists with their audiences through high-quality experiences. Sparrow Live’s vision is a barrier-free relationship of equals between artists and audiences.” Continue reading →

Jan 30

That Which Makes Us Different Makes Us Beautiful: BREATH & IMAGINATION

Posted on by
Elijah Rock, Nehal Joshi and Harriet D. Foy Photo credit: Mike Ritter

Elijah Rock, Nehal Joshi and Harriet D. Foy
Photo credit: Mike Ritter

Presented by ArtsEmerson
Created/written by Daniel Beaty
Directed by David Dower
Music directed/accompanied/arranged/additional music by Jonathan Mastro

Jan 27 – Feb 08, 2015
Paramount Center Mainstage
Boston, MA
ArtsEmerson on Facebook
Roland Hayes (School of Music) on Facebook, Wiki

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Black lives matter: Racism is alive and thriving everywhere. “But it’s 2015,” people will cry. Right, it’s 2015 and racism is still alive and thriving in Boston. To prove a point: check out which art makes the most money. For an institution greatly concerned with artistic expression, remaining significant in an ever modernizing world, and pushing boundaries, opera tends to steer clear of non-White people. Opera includes POCs in its casting but its stories are mostly about White people. Roland Hayes, first Black man to sing a concert at Symphony Hall would be an excellent subject for an opera.  Thank the great goodness that there’s Breath & Imagination to educate the masses. Continue reading →

Jun 17

OperaHub Announces: DER VAMPYR

Posted on by

vampyrwebgraphic

OperaHub Announces June 2014 Show:

Heinrich Marschner’s

DER VAMPYR

in a new English-language adaptation
Boston’s “opera punks” say, “Bite me!”

Librettist: John J King
Stage Director: Christie Lee Gibson
Music Director: Lina Gonzalez

June 19 – June 26, 2014

FREE ADMISSION!
In the spirit of accessible opera for all, tickets are absolutely free, and may be reserved in advance online here!

 

BOSTON, MA – OperaHub broadens their ambitions with their June 2014 production: a new adaptation of Heinrich Marschner’s 1828 gothic opera DER VAMPYR. Though the work had its American premiere at the Boston Conservatory in 1980, it has not been seen in Boston since. Several companies around the world have produced it in recent years, including the American Symphony in Spring 2013 and the New Orleans Opera last fall. Hailed by the New York Times as a “gem of an opera,” it falls stylistically between Weber’s DER FREISCHUTZ and Wagner’s FLYING DUTCHMAN, with a thematic debt owed to Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI.

In the original version of DER VAMPYR, Lord Ruthven, the blood-sucker in question, has not been sucking his fair share of blood. The other vampires in his coven gather at the witches’ dance to charge him with taking three virgins by the end of the third day, or he will perish as a mortal. Tragedy ensues in the local village until the vampire is vanquished. Continue reading →

Mar 11

Thoroughly Marvelous “Millie”

Posted on by

Presented by The Boston Conservatory Theater Ensemble
Directed by Michael Susko; Music Directed by Steven Ladd Jones

The Boston Conservatory Theater
31 Hemenway St. in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood
March 7—10, 2013
Boston Conservatory Facebook Page

Review by Nicola McEldowney (reviewed 3/8/2013)

(Boston) Occasionally, a performance comes along that reminds you what a certain genre is all about – be that genre Greek tragedy, or Renaissance lute songs, or shadow puppetry. For me, the Boston Conservatory’s Thoroughly Modern Millie is one of these performances. Helmed by director Michael Susko and music director Steven Ladd Jones, this production encapsulates the heart and soul of American musical theatre at its most energized, polished and professional. All the more remarkable, it is performed by students. Continue reading →

Dec 06

A Decadent 18th Century Treat: “The Way of the World”

Posted on by

Photo credit: The Boston Conservatory

Written by William Congreve
Directed by Christopher Webb
December 4 – 7, 2012

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Boston) For a tragically short engagement, The Boston Conservatory has decided to showcase the adultery comedy of manners, The Way of the World.  The theatrical effort revives the Restoration-era play by William Congreve (1670 – 1729) for the contemporary stage.  With everyone in powdered wigs and dimpled with fake moles, Mirabell (Marchant Davis) plots to marry the clever Mrs. Millamant (Emily Shankman) by outwitting her wealthy, mean-spirited aunt, Lady Wishfort (the delightful Jacqueline Harding, playing her role with zeal). Continue reading →

Oct 20

Jesus Christ Superstar: God and Everyone Else is Listening

Posted on by

Photos: Copyright The Boston Conservatory. Max Wagenblass, photographer.

presented by The Boston Conservatory

Music by Andrew Lloyd Weber.
Lyrics by Tim Rice.

Directed by Neil Donohoe
Music Direction by Bill Casey.
Conducted by Reuben M. Reynolds, III.
Choreographed by Michelle Chasse.

The Boston Conservatory Theater
Boston, MA

October 18 – 21, 2012

(Boston) It started out as a lovely evening. Boston Conservatory’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar is excellent – not only as a student production but as a piece of art comparable to professional area theater. The students in Friday’s performance were electric on the stage, filling every crevice in the theater with palpable, thrumming energy. Their acting was fine, their dance was great and their vocals blew the roof off. The modern dance choreographed by Michelle Chasse lends itself well to this updated production. The subtle yet evocative lighting design by Franklin Meissner Jr. was the cherry on the performance sundae. It is a good show. Continue reading →